26/02/2014

Beauty Review: Boots Natural Collection's Skin Stuff


Unlike many ladies in their 20's who have grown out of their bad skin, mine decided to stick around for just that little bit longer. In fact, I don't remember a time when my skin was 100% clear (apart from when I was a toddler, and even then there were always traces of chocolate on my shnoz). My cheeks are always red, I have forehead lines of a 45 year-old chain smoker and my pores are huge. Although I get the occasional pre-MC spot, I don't actually have acne - however, my face generally doesn't agree with me very much. Many people's faces reflect their life choices (take note next time you wake up after a night out - your skin is literally screaming, it absolutely HATES you) - mine however, is a reflection of all those times I "forgot" to take my make-up off before bed (aka passed out before I could make it to the bathroom).

Because I am pretty alright at doing my make up, I get a lot of comments like "it's not THAT bad" and "I've seen worse". Well, thank you, I am aware that I don't look like a cratered tomato, but I'm still not pleased with it - if you saw me in the morning you'd think that the house was being mistaken for a Shaun of the Dead 2 film set. NOT PRETTY. Thus, I'm always on the look out for cheap, good quality make-up (which lets be honest, is a rarity nowadays). I came across the 3 for £5 Natural Collection offer as I was topping up my carbs in Boots (Honey Mustard pasta FTW) and thought I might as well give it go - I ended up picking the cover up cream, corrector stick and loose powder.

NATURAL COLLECTION COVER-UP CREAM IN FAIR, £1.99
With heavy, dark under-eye shopping bags that would even shame Tesco, I always find it hard to cover those babies up without making me look like a cake. This cream is great value, easily applicable and does the job relatively well. It's the same consistency as regular foundation, but becomes a little bit stickier when you start blending so you end up with decent coverage (although it does require a few strokes). The applicator stick, similar to the ones you get in lip glosses, is also a nifty addition for applying directly to your problem areas. I would say that you need to apply a relatively thin coat otherwise you tend to get annoying lines, but for the price of a McFlurry it's not a bad product.

NATURAL COLLECTION CORRECTOR STICK, £1.99
Unfortunately, I've been blessed with my dad's naturally rosy cheeks. By rosy, I don't mean that subtle, dewy look that you see all over Tumblr, I mean burst capillaries that look like you've been punched in the face. Yaaaay. My first impression of this strange lipstick shaped contraption was "Why the Jesus is it green?" Then, my inner beauty goddess kicked in and I remembered that green cancels out redness, essentially erasing rashy blotches. Yes I know, it took me a while. Although it does work, my advice is to a) don't use too much as you end up looking like Snooky (unless you want that of course...each to their own), and b) make sure you use a primer underneath if you have large pores, as they tend to become more prominent. Overall, it does the job.

NATURAL COLLECTION LOOSE POWDER IN TRANSLUCENT, £1.99
Out of the three, I'd say this is the most efficient. I use powder over my foundation because I tend to get shiny patches around my nose and forehead, but I've always used Collection's set powder because it's given me the most matte coverage. However, I do find that I end up looking a bit cakey, so I decided to try a loose powder to see the difference between the two. Honestly, I prefer this; not only is it transparent, which means that it doesn't add extra colour to your foundation, but it's light, easily applicable, and provides good coverage. 

Overall, I'd say that Natural Collection has a pretty decent range of products for good prices. My best friend swears by their moisturising lipsticks, and I have now added two extra blushers to my collection. If you're looking for stuff that is simple to use, doesn't faff with the packaging and is good value for money, pop over to Boots. And if you see me rummaging around the section as I do, DO SAY HELLO FRIENDS!

xox

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